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The City of London Corporation has been in the news lately related to Occupy London. But the deeper story of how this medieval remnant functions in 21st century England is far stranger... and more sinister.
comment posted at 12:46 AM on Nov-3-11

At least 4,000 are at the gates to the Port of Oakland - San Jose Mercury News. More links inside.
comment posted at 12:37 AM on Nov-3-11
comment posted at 6:58 PM on Nov-3-11

In 2004, Texas Judge William Adams beat his 16-year old daughter with a belt for downloading music and computer games. Unbeknownst to him, she filmed the whole thing. Seven years later, fed up with the continued harassment and abuse from her father, she uploaded it to YouTube (warning: graphic language and violence, NSFW). Less than 24 hours after hitting Reddit, the video is all over the news. Hillary Adams says on Twitter that she hopes her father will receive help, not condemnation.
comment posted at 11:26 AM on Nov-2-11

The Sheriff's Office in Montgomery County, Texas near Houston has become the first law enforcement agency to buy a weaponizable Shadowhawk MK-III UAV.
comment posted at 7:39 PM on Oct-31-11

The Gadget Show has created a hyper-realistic FPS game simulator using tons of custom hardware and software, and recently released Battlefield 3.
comment posted at 9:35 PM on Oct-30-11

in 1994, Gary Larson's Far Side came to life on television in the form of an animated Halloween special like no other. Tales From The Far Side only aired once, and the television version differs from the not-easily-located DVD version. You can read more about this dark and hilarious animated classic courtesy of Vinnie Rattolle's, and find a copy of the television version for your very own holiday viewing.
comment posted at 10:27 PM on Oct-29-11
comment posted at 4:28 PM on Oct-30-11
comment posted at 4:29 PM on Oct-30-11

YouTube (Google) is spending $100 million dollars to create 25hrs a day of new original content. Intending to compete with cable TV, they'll have 100 "channels" with regular series and well-known talent. The channels are being developed "specifically for the digital age," which sounds like they're trying to create a new type of media, they compare it to the advent of cable television. There's a graveyard of ideas like this that failed, but maybe YouTube is different this time. First channels show up in a few weeks, most appear in 2012.
comment posted at 3:22 PM on Oct-29-11

Is reading on the loo bad for you? [Guardian] Filthy habit or blameless bliss? A public health study by Ron Shaoul lifts the lid on toilet reading once and for all.
comment posted at 7:48 AM on Oct-29-11

What is wrong with bicycle helmets?
comment posted at 8:19 PM on Oct-28-11
comment posted at 3:29 PM on Oct-29-11

Public support for the new healthcare law has dropped significantly, with just 34% of Americans viewing the law favorably, the lowest level of support since the president signed the law in March 2010. A new survey by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation, deals a blow to the Obama administration as Republican presidential candidates keep up their pledges to repeal the president’s signature domestic legislative achievement. 'Much of the decline appears to have been driven by faltering support among Democrats, just 52% of whom said they view the law favorably, down from 65% a month earlier. Support among independents dropped from 36% to 32%. And support from Republicans fell from 14% to 11%.'
comment posted at 8:11 PM on Oct-28-11

The Texas Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series for the first time in their 40-year history in Game 6 Thursday night. Twice.
comment posted at 10:12 AM on Oct-28-11

In December 1946, 100,000 union members participated in a 54-hour general strike that effectively shut down Oakland, California. Since November,425 non-union retail clerks at Kahn’s and Hastings department stores had been picketing for several weeks, attempting to organize as the Retail Clerks (Local 1265). On December 1, after Teamsters refused to deliver merchandise to the stores in solidarity, the Retail Merchants Association, sent in 12 trucks driven by non-union strikebreakers, supported by a 300-member police escort [PDF]. The next day, "the bus drivers," remembers Secretary of the Alameda County Central Labor Council Robert Ash, "told the police that the carmen had never crossed a picket line, and so long as that cop picket line was across the street, they were not going to take the streetcars or the buses through."
comment posted at 11:20 AM on Oct-27-11
comment posted at 11:46 AM on Oct-27-11

Why do we sleep?
comment posted at 4:06 AM on Oct-27-11
comment posted at 4:29 AM on Oct-27-11

"If you buy bus or train tickets for me, do not give my name! Big Brother has no right to know where I travel, or where you travel, or where anyone travels. If they arbitrarily demand a name, give a name that does not belong to any person you know of. If they will check my ID before I board the bus or train, then let's look for another way for me to travel." Richard Stallman's rider. Via.
comment posted at 4:40 AM on Oct-27-11

He's usually kinda funny. Not this time. Rick Mercer's rants are well known in Canada. They're hilarious, though biting. What set him off? The suicide of Jamie Hubley, a 15 year old kid who liked to cover Lady Gaga, among others.
comment posted at 6:58 PM on Oct-26-11
comment posted at 7:22 PM on Oct-26-11

NYC the way it was: really cool.
comment posted at 4:55 PM on Oct-26-11

Nest is a "brave new thermostat" from one of the creators of the iPod. It learns from your temperature adjustments.
comment posted at 3:48 PM on Oct-25-11

from above.
comment posted at 12:22 PM on Oct-25-11

Last month, The Atlantic reported that since 1980s, the price of a metallic NYC taxi license has grown four-times faster than the average home or a brick of gold, claiming it to be a wonderful "inflation hedge." This report proved prescient; on Friday two such medallions (which merely represent the taxi's license) just sold for $1 million apiece — a 42% increase just since August. Also on Friday, mere hours after reading the newsstand headlines, Midtown Manhattan resident Tom Poteat looked down to see a medallion, unattached to its taxi, lying on the sidewalk.
comment posted at 1:06 AM on Oct-25-11
comment posted at 8:58 AM on Oct-25-11

Bacon Roses
comment posted at 1:00 AM on Oct-25-11

How Dropbox said "No" to Steve Jobs and lived happily ever after. (So far.)
comment posted at 5:24 PM on Oct-24-11

Vancouver aims to "end homelessness by 2015". Officials have been working over the years to reduce the city’s homelessness, and in July passed an ambitious plan that targets eliminating street homelessness by 2015 and creating nearly 40,000 new units of social, rental, and condo housing by 2021. The plan is aimed at building multiple types of housing to address shortages, but the first three years focus mainly on supportive and social housing. It calls for 3,650 units of such housing, 1,700 of which are already funded and in either the planning or construction phase. According to city councilor Kerry Jang, the need for this type of supportive housing has skyrocketed in recent years.
comment posted at 4:20 PM on Oct-24-11
comment posted at 5:41 PM on Oct-24-11
comment posted at 5:48 PM on Oct-24-11
comment posted at 6:00 PM on Oct-24-11

So Google recently announced that changes are coming to Google Reader. One of the upcoming changes is that Reader is losing its own, loved by many, social sharing in favor of Google+: "They're also removing the ability to consume shared items in Reader, so you'll have to go to G+ to read them. I'm fine with G+ being the plumbing for all of Reader's social features, but to force you to go to G+ to comment and read shared items seems shortsighted."

This news has not fared well with many of Reader's users.
comment posted at 3:07 PM on Oct-24-11

A while back, Gawker broke the story of a former manager suing Target as part of a series about life at the notoriously anti-union store. Since then many more employees have come forward with stories about "The sketchiest place I've ever worked." (Target Previously)
comment posted at 1:03 PM on Oct-23-11
comment posted at 1:57 PM on Oct-23-11
comment posted at 4:01 PM on Oct-23-11
comment posted at 6:08 PM on Oct-23-11

The iPod turns 10 Today marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the iPod. Touted in a low-key presentation as a player that would let you carry 1000 (!) songs in a player the size of a pack of cards (!), the 1st gen model didn't really impress techies (or mefi), though consumers quickly fell for the stylish white and stainless player. In the ensuing years, Apple kept plugging away at new models, and today, few even remember that Apple was late to this game. (previously)
comment posted at 12:35 PM on Oct-23-11

New Zealand have won the Rugby World Cup, for the first time in 24 years.
comment posted at 9:52 AM on Oct-23-11

People generally associate the TSA with airport security…but now , starting in Tennessee, we have moved on to other forms of transportation, such as highways, buses and railways That's why Tennessee is the first State to partner with TSA to do random checks on highways.
comment posted at 10:01 AM on Oct-23-11

Was GeekGirlCon 2011 the most important con of the year?
comment posted at 1:13 AM on Oct-23-11

This is THE original human slingshot developed by the Pope family in Hobble Creek Canyon, UT. Just a couple posts and some bungee cords. Filmed with Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D.
comment posted at 6:39 PM on Oct-21-11

His and hers Halloween sex toys. (Previously, related)
comment posted at 11:10 PM on Oct-20-11

It's not drinking alcohol that makes you behave like an ass, it's your culture
comment posted at 11:02 PM on Oct-20-11

German DJ Flula Borg does not understand why you would shoot fish in a barrel, does not understand the logic of rock, paper, scissors and definitely does not want to shoot the shit.
comment posted at 5:19 AM on Oct-20-11

A couple married for 72 years dies holding hands, one hour apart. The inseparable couple was engaged and married within 12 hours in 1939, on the day Norma Yeager graduated from high school, May 26, 1939.
comment posted at 5:22 AM on Oct-20-11

Dear Me -- celebrity letters to their younger selves. Stephen King, Gene Hackman, Gillian Anderson, James Belushi, Alice Cooper, John Waters, Sandra Bernhard, Hugh Jackman, Alan Cumming, and Kathleen Turner.
comment posted at 5:26 AM on Oct-20-11

Wild Animal Escape From Ohio Farm Like 'Noah's Ark Wrecking' "Jack Hanna says the scene of wild and dangerous animals running from an eastern Ohio farm after their owner freed them and killed himself was 'like Noah’s Ark wrecking.'
comment posted at 11:54 PM on Oct-19-11
comment posted at 12:45 AM on Oct-20-11